Boredom makes people more creative, claim psychologists

People are more creative after they take part in a boring test, psychologists
have found

Boredom is by its very nature tedious and unpleasant, but far from being mind-numbing it might actually stimulate creativity, a psychologist has found.

Dr Sandi Mann, from the University of Central Lancashire, asked students to find creative uses for two polystyrene cups to test their levels of creativity.

Before the experiment she asked one group to carry out the humdrum task of copying phone numbers from a telephone directly.

Dr Mann discovered that those who carried out the boring telephone task found far more uses for the cups than the control group.

"Boredom is a fascinating emotion because it is seen as so negative yet it is such a motivating force,” she said,

“I am also acutely aware that being bored is not the bad thing everyone makes it out to be. It is good to be bored sometimes! I think up so many ideas when I am commuting to and from work – this would be dead time, but thanks to the boredom it induces, come up with all sorts of projects.”

She believes that parents should allow their children to experience boredom so that they can learn to create their own entertainment.

“Unlike so many parents today, I am quite happy when my kids whine that they are bored,” she said: “Finding ways to amuse themselves is an important skill.”